Rye’s Rocha finding his way on Army’s ice

Friday

Nov 30, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Mike ZHEPortsmouth Herald

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Army defenseman Cheyne Rocha was the last player on the ice to reach teammate Josh Richards for a post-goal celebration in the second period Thursday night, one that put his team up 2-0 on Bentley.

If the last couple years have taught the Rye, N.H., native anything, it’s patience.

Life is good these days for Rocha, who’s captaining an improved Army team a year after a broken leg wiped out most of his junior season, and he watched the losses pile up from several rows above ice level.

Rocha will begin his military career after being assigned an Officer Basic Course after graduation, the start of a mandatory five-year commitment. He was scheduled to find out later Thursday to what branch he’d be assigned.

“Going to find out my branch tonight,” he said afterward. “Then we find out our posts, where we’re going to be going, in February. Lot of exciting things happening senior year.”

In Rocha’s case, looking ahead sure beats the alternative.

It was right at this time last year that his season came to an abrupt end. During a game against Brown that went into overtime, he collided with an opposing player in the neutral zone and immediately dropped to the ice.

“It was really a freak accident,” said Rocha. “His knee came up, hit my leg and snapped my tibia in half. I knew it was bad.”

His team struggled the rest of the way without him, winning just once in its next 14 times out, and finishing 4-23-7 overall and last in the Atlantic Hockey Association.

This year has erased some of that bad taste. He was voted team team’s captain in the offseason and his team is 4-2-1 in Atlantic Hockey (4-6-1 overall, matching last year’s win total) after Thursday night’s hard-fought, 3-2 win over Bentley at the John A. Ryan Arena.

“Surprised? I wouldn’t say that,” said Rocha, about gaining the captaincy. “It’s one of those things where I kind of knew the guys respected me, on and off the ice. I was thankful that after missing the season guys were viewing me the same way.”

With Rocha, hockey’s only one part of the package.

“Cheyne Rocha is everything that you hope your players will be in your program,” said Army coach Brian Riley after the win. “There isn’t a coach in the country that wouldn’t like to have Cheyne Rocha on their team.

“Great leader. Great role model for the younger players. What he’s done, in the classroom and on the ice, is really amazing.”

An engineering management major, Rocha carries a grade-point average above 4.0, has been on the Dean’s List all six semesters and was a finalist to be a Rhodes Scholar. He’s also one of 20 student-athletes nationwide to be nominated for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes communication, classroom, character and competition.

“There’s a lot more to Cheyne than just hockey,” said Tim Pratt, who coached him for four years at St. Paul’s School. “I think that shows through in the choice he made going to West Point.”

Rocha is the first member of his family to embark on a military career, but West Point has proven to be an ideal fit for a player who attracted minimal Division I interest coming out of St. Paul’s School and was hampered by injury in his one year playing juniors with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs.

Ironically, it was his defense partner at St. Paul’s — Mike Daly — who had the Army family background, his father and brother both attending West Point. But Daly opted to play at Holy Cross, wrapping up his career in March.

“At first, it wasn’t really on my radar or on my list,” said Rocha. “I came on a visit and one thing Coach Riley said really stuck with me: ‘Thirty years down the road, you’re going to say this is where you went and it’s going to be more than playing hockey.’”

A big, rangy skater at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Rocha is also versatile. His focus is more defense than offense (3-14-17 scoring totals in 90 career games), but he’s a dependable, physical presence on the blueline.

He nearly picked up his second assist of the night on what would have been a third-period insurance goal but Zak Zaremba chipped his crossing pass wide of an empty net. But there was no question who was going to be anchoring the back end when the Falcons (6-6, 5-4 Atlantic Hockey) pulled their goalie with a little over a minute left and the Black Knights had to hold on.

“He blocks more shot than anybody on our team,” said Riley. “So you know what? When we’re in a situation where we’re protecting a one-goal lead, he’s gonna be out there for us.”

It was a popular win in many parts of the Ryan Arena stands, which had at least a dozen Rocha supporters.

“My little brother goes to Babson, so he brought a lot of people,” he said. “A lot of family for the local guys (on the team). My parents were here. It was good.”

Rocha, Richards and the rest of the Black Knights are skating with heavy hearts this season. On Saturday, there will be a pregame ceremony back at Tate Rink honoring Maj. Tom Kennedy, the team’s Officer Representative, who was killed in action in Afghanistan this summer, a death that hit the team hard.

“He would do anything for anyone and always put others first,” said Richards, who grew up in Lee, N.H., and attended Phillips Exeter Academy. “He helped me make my summer schedule this past summer and was a great role model for all of us.”

There are many ways Rocha is reminded daily that he’s not attending a regular college.

His daily schedule, from a 6:20 a.m. wakeup, to a full slate of classes, to hockey practice at 3:30 p.m., to dinner with the team and often regimental meetings afterward, usually doesn’t include any free time until well after 7 p.m.

While most Division I players use their summers to improve their skating, or strength and conditioning, Rocha’s had a different agenda, going back to the summer before his first year at the Academy, when he was immersed in the cadet way of life during Beast Barracks.

He spent his second summer in the field and his third one overseeing his own squad of 12 fourth-classmen — “plebes” — in Beast. This past summer, he was at Fort Carson in Colorado.

While other seniors are looking at the job market, he’ll find out in February where he’ll be going for his Officer Basic Course, the last step before his military career begins.

“This place has set me up to do great things,” he said, “whether a leader in the Army or something else. The things I’m learning here every day, being captain of the hockey team, it will set me up to be successful in whatever I go into.”